A Hard Man in a Tough Time

Half a century ago, the international racing world was a hard place to live

- Maynard Hershon

I’m reading Make Haste Slowly, The Mike Duff Story, by Michelle Duff. Michelle passed away in July of this year. More about that later in this piece. In the ‘60s, Canadian Mike Duff was a successful part of the Continental Circus, travelling all over Europe to compete in Grand Prix. In those days, there was often a 50cc class, usually a 125cc class, a 250cc class, a 350cc class and the elite 500cc class. In the ‘60s, the established European and British manufacturers watched as the Japanese upstarts began stealing their glory.

Riders then wore relatively useless half-helmets, goggles and unpadded leathers. Courses ran on closed public roads without today’s runoff areas and air fences. Crashing was serious. Fatal crashes were common.

Even successful riders drove from race to race and camped at the venues. No one got rich. Riders negotiated with race promoters for start money and with sponsors for tyres, parts and equipment, and with mechanics for help in the pits. Nothing came easily.

Except for the top few, the riders maintained their own equipment. You didn't just ride back to the pit and hop off as some coveralled tech rolled your bike into the team garage. Maybe you had to work on your motorcycle all night to repair crash damage or to fix problems so you could be ready to race at 8am.

If you got hurt, you rode anyway, unless you were really hurt. You'd driven for hours or days to get to the circuit. You needed the start money and prize money to pay bills and to continue this so-called glamorous lifestyle.